"Life is nothing until it is lived, but it is yours to make sense of; the value of life is nothing other than the sense you choose."-Jean Paul Sartre
I saw a quote expressing similar thoughts from H.D. Thoreau somewhere, but now I can't find it.
raven wrote
it's really no wonder you're depressed...you are trying to talk yourself into believing in a system that declares that life has no meaning. how sucky is that? i bet, like most people, you probably rather believe there is meaning in those moments, and in those places, and with those people where you make it meaningful.
Well, yes and no. The idea that life has no meaning doesn't strike me as sucky at all. I find it liberating. Just because life has no meaning doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. (Which is not to say I am enjoying it... I don't want that rumor getting out... but I'm hardly in the throes of misery, either.)
Actually, we enjoy lots of things that have no meaning. Lightweight fiction that is sometimes classified as 'summer reading,' for example. Or cheesy movies.
I have pretty much purged my life of moments that are capital 'M' Meaningful, and to absolutely salutary effect.
Some zen monk asked his teacher, "What is Zen?" and the old master replied, "When I hunger, I eat. When I'm tired, I sleep." That's meaningful for me, and about as meaningful as I care to get.
And my depression doesn't stem from my worldview... if anything, it would be the other way 'round. My depression is hereditary and biological, plus perhaps the result of upbringing.
More to come...
...but I have to say, writing isn't working so well for me lately. I feel like I'm just fogging up a window with my breath, and the harder I breathe, the foggier it gets.
2 comments:
If you believe that your depression is biological (medical) would you not go to the doctor if you had the flu or diabetes?? Would you sit back and say that the doctor cannot help me??
Being depressed is nothing to be ashamed of, but not asking for help for them is like saying insulin will not help my diabetes and seems foolish. Depression has almost killed me twice, but there will be no third time.
just my little thought about writing and your comparison to fogging the window...
for me, writing is a journey like anything else and the less I try to impose a destination, the better off I am. Also, if that's the metaphor that makes you comfortable, don't you fog your glasses before you wipe them clean and free of smudges? I do.
blogblah!!!
p.s. I take my medicine for depression and it ain't perfect, but it's sure as hell better. just my experience.
Post a Comment